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Tennessee Football: Vols look to become bowl eligible vs Missouri

By Kyle Schmidt

KNOXVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 10: Ty Chandler #8 of the Tennessee Volunteers takes a hand off from Jarrett Guarantano #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half of the game between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 24-7. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - NOVEMBER 10: Ty Chandler #8 of the Tennessee Volunteers takes a hand off from Jarrett Guarantano #2 of the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half of the game between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee won the game 24-7. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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Saturday, the Tennessee Volunteers will play to the Missouri Tigers as they try and get their sixth win. Here is a look at what the Vols will be up against.

The Vols upcoming game against Missouri will be one of their most important games of the 2018 season.  Not only is it senior day for Tennessee, but a win will give them their sixth of the season and make them bowl eligible in Jeremy Pruitt’s first year as head coach.

A win over the Tigers will not come easy.  Tennessee’s defense will have to have another great day similar to the one they had in the win over Kentucky.

Offense

When the Missouri Tigers show up in Neyland Stadium, the will bring with them the 17th ranked offense in college football, averaging 473.4 yards/game.  Tennessee’s defense, which is ranked 43rd overall, will have their hands full.

The leader of the offense is Senior quarterback Drew Lock.  Lock has completed 215/344 (62.5%) of his passes this season for 2647 yards, 21 touchdowns, and just 8 interceptions.  The offensive line has done a good job protecting their quarterback and has only given up 12 sacks this season.

Lock has done a  good job of spreading the ball around to different receivers so if the Vols are going to have a chance of slowing down the passing attack the secondary will need to have a very good day.  The leading receiver for Missouri is Senior wide receiver Emmanuel Hall with 529 yards.  He is followed by Johnathon Johnson, Albert Okwuegbanum, and Jalen Knox.

Unfortunately for the Tigers, Sophomore tight end Albert Okwuegbunam will not be available for Saturday’s game.  According to Dave Matter of the St Louis Post Dispatch, the Missouri tight end is suffering from a shoulder injury and this will be his second straight game to miss.  This is a big blow to the Tigers’ offense as he leads all SEC tight ends with 43 catches, 466 yards, and 6 touchdowns.

On the ground, Missouri has two running backs who have split carries this season.  Sophomore running back Larry Rountree III has run the ball 143 times for 758 yards and 9 touchdowns.  He is joined by Junior running back Damarea Crockett.  Crockett has 144 rushing attempts for 699 yards and 7 touchdowns.

Tennessee’s defense will have to be firing on all cylinders if they are going to get their sixth win this weekend.

Defense

On the defensive side of the ball, the Tigers are ranked 73rd overall giving up an average of 410.6 yards/game.  Considering the offense of Tennessee is only averaging 340.9 yards/game, this week could be their chance to have a breakout game.

On average, opponents have gained 134.1 yards/game on the ground and 276.5 yards/game through the air.

The leading tackler for the Mizzou defense is Junior linebacker Cale Garrett.  Garrett has a total of 86 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and 1 sack.  As a team, the Tigers’ defense has sacked the opposing quarterbacks 17 times this season.  While the offensive line for the Volunteers has struggled this season, they have shown improvement over the last couple of games.  I look for them to show continued improvement this week giving the Vols a better chance to win.

in spite of the fact that Mizzou is favored to win by 6 points, I expect Tennessee to come out ready to play.  Heading into this season, most people did not expect them to be playing for a bowl game yet a win Saturday will get them there.  This will be a very close game, but in the end, I think the Volunteers will come out on top with a score of 27-24.

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